Lumber is commonly carried by truck or rail car by stacking the lumber into a stack or bundle and securing the stack to the vehicle by straps under tension.
In a typical configuration, this stack is assembled on top of the bed of the trailer to form a rectangular bundle with vertical sides and a horizontal top surface. The straps are passed over the sides and top surface and tensioned at both ends to the bed to secure the bundle in place.
While the straps are generally effective, particularly in preventing horizontal shifting of the sides of the bundle and the lumber at the top edge of the upper surface, frequently the lumber near the center of the top surface is not tightly secured. This can lead to shifting of these pieces of lumber. Occasionally, the lumber pieces can actually fall from the bundle onto the highway or track or forward into the cab of the truck. Clearly, the shifting of lumber can have serious consequences.
A need therefore exists for a more reliable technique to secure the lumber in such a bundle to avoid shifting of the lumber, particularly of the pieces in the top of the bundle.